Charcoal and the unwelcome return, chapters 13&14
by Hope-and-Roses
Summary: ..


Chapt 13

"Listen Suki," pleaded Rose as the three Cybers closed in, "What will killing do to help? You won't achieve anything."

"Maybe not," said CyberSuki, "But I'll sure make me feel better."

"Don't try and reason with her," whispered the Doctor to Rose, "I don't think the inhibitor has completely broken. It's only letting the negative and irrational emotions through, and she is using the rest of the Cybers as a amplifier for her anger."

The Doctor and Rose cowered against the fence. The Doctors mind seemed to be in reverse. He knew he was going to die, and he was trying to find a nice memory to be the last thing he thought of. Suddenly into his mind came a picture of Charcoal. He realised with sorrow that he'd never be able to go back for her. The image turned to look at him, and she smiled the prettiest smile the Doctor had ever seen. He could die happy, he thought numbly. Then c

Charcoal turned round and bashed CyberSuki.

The Doctor shook his head. The image of Charcoal wasn't in his head, she was there in front of him.

"Back off sister, they're with me." Growled Charcoal.

"Watch out for the lasers…" began the Doctor as Charcoal dodged a flash of blue light. Suki and the others were getting even madder, determined to destroy the blonde girl who was laughing at them.

"Run!" Charcoal hissed at the Doctor and Rose, pushing them past the Cybers, as she kept them busy.

"But…" said the Doctor as Rose dragged him away. Once they were out in the main street they stopped. "We just left her…" muttered the Doctor, "She died for us… the most heroic, amazing, beautiful…"

"Why thanks! I had no idea you felt like that!" Said Charcoal. She stepped out from behind a tree, grinning broadly at the Doctor and Rose's faces.

"But how…" Said Rose.

"Oh come on guys, projection, one of the most basic things!" laughed Charcoal, "You don't actually think I'd risk my life for you guy's do you!"

The Doctor shook his head and scooped Charcoal up in a huge hug. Out of the corner of one eye, Charcoal could see Rose fidgeting in the street, with something that looked pretty close to jealousy on her face.

"Ok, ok, you can put me down now," said Charcoal with a wicked grin, "You have no idea where I have been." She was about to tell them about Gallifrey when a group of people came out of a street.

"Are they Cybers?" asked Rose, squinting at them.

"I don't want to stick around to find out." Said the Doctor, pulling Rose and Charcoal after him.

Rose trailed dejectedly after Charcoal and the Doctor. She was exhausted and her feet were killing her.

"This is the last time I wear high heels when I'm battling mad aliens…"

"What are you moaning about back there?" Called the Doctor over his shoulder. They had managed to get away from the people who _could_ have been Cybers and were trying to get back to the SIDRAT. Rose was feeling very left out. She didn't understand why the Doctor couldn't just blast these Cybers like he had done to the last lot.

"Hey," she panted, "Wait up." Charcoal and the Doctor had made it to the SIDRAT and the shiny new TARDIS. They were watching her with a look that clearly said, 'Aww, she's only human'. Rose growled under her breath but said nothing, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"Hey Rose!" said Charcoal brightly once Rose had regained her breath, "The Doctor and I think that we should try to get out of here before the Cybers come after us…"

"But what about earth?" Said Rose, looking incredulously at the Doctor, then back to Charcoal.

"What about it?" Asked Charcoal, casually flicking the Doctor the keys to the new TARDIS.

"We have to save it." Exclaimed Rose, not able to believe what she was hearing. Charcoal looked at the Doctor, an unreadable expression on her face.

"We don't have to save it at all." Said the Doctor, "Lumic did this, not us. Anyway, it's probably to late, why risk our lives for a planet that's already doomed?" As soon as he said it, he realised what a dumb thing it was to say. He was about to apologise when Rose turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Now I know why the Time Lords got wiped out," she screamed over her shoulder, "Because what's the point in trying to save an already doomed planet!"

"Oh great," growled the Doctor, "Girls are so irrational. Especially blonde ones…" It wasn't until he'd finished his rant that he realised that charcoal had stormed off as well.

Chapt 14

Rose was fuming as she walked along the promenade. She watched the sea crash furiously onto the beach, tossing up frothy waves. The sky matched her mood, a stormy grey. She hated the Doctor and she hated charcoal, especially Charcoal.

"It was fine until that cow came along with her physic shields and stupid talking box!" muttered Rose to herself, "Now all we do is run around after her. I wish she'd never found us…" Rose was so caught up in her hatred of Charcoal that she wasn't looking where she was going.

"_I'd look where I was going if I was you." _CyberSuki said, gazing at Rose as if people walked into her every day. Rose looked into the angry eyes of the robot girl and understood exactly what she was feeling. "_Look, I'm not gonna kill you, because I can see that we're both facing the same problem." _She put a cold hand on Rose's shoulder and walked beside her. Rose felt numb and unhappy, but not a bit scared, even though she had seen what the Cyber2.0's could do. "_Look Rose," _CyberSuki continued, "_Come with me and I'll make you into a Cyber and you can blast that annoying Doctor's head off, and torture and mutilate dear Charcoal to your heart's desire, not that you'd have a heart!" _Rose backed away, straight into the arms of two other Cyber2.0's. she struggled, but their grip was like iron, which, she reminded herself, it was.

"No thanks," she said, "I'll just kick him in the butt and be done with it!" She laughed breezily, but CyberSuki just gazed levelly at her.

"_Y'know, I don't remember giving you a choice in the matter." _She turned away and Rose was dragged, screaming and kicking, after her.

Charcoal was storming along a street on the opposite side of Brighton. Her mind was a whirl of emotions and she felt awful. She'd had no idea that Rose had hated her that much, but then, Rose wasn't her favourite person in all the universes either. Charcoal had always thought of Rose as a spoilt, chavvy brat. And a young one at that. Rose was no more than a baby compared to her.

"What does the Doctor see in that stuck-up little human anyway? She said to the sky, "She's not even that pretty, and she certainly is nothing special in the brains department." She scuffed her trainer on the pavement, what had Rose got that Charcoal hadn't? Nothing, unless you counted a serious lack of common sense and a missing heart. "Fine," said Charcoal, "Fine, I don't need the stupid Doctor or Rosie-Posie. I can save this whole planet on my own, then who will come out on top, me, or the dumb blonde?" She gave a hysterical little laugh and headed off to where they had first seen the Cyber2.0's.

The Doctor was furious. He walked into the shopping district of Brighton, with it's winding back streets and little craft shops. The whole place was deserted. "For goodness sake," he snarled at nothing in particular, "The first rule, the first blinking rule that I tell everyone, don't wander off, and what is the first thing they all do? Bloody wander off! It makes me so mad! Why don't they listen? Because girls never listen." He answered himself. "And now they've wandered off they're gonna get in trouble and who'll have to save them? Me. Oh yes, me. I can't say I didn't warn them. In fact, why bother? I should just leave them and see how they cope. Well they can get themselves out of this one." He sat on a metal chair outside a café and waited, not sure what he was waiting for. Maybe Charcoal and Rose walking past as Cybers? That would be funny, the Cyber army would have no idea what had hit them. He smiled. Then his smile faltered. What would he tell Jackie? 'I'm sorry, I didn't save Rose because I was pissed off at that moment in time.' He reckoned that Jackie would probably impale a frying pan in his skull if he said that. He frowned, maybe 'I was too late to save her, I'm awfully sorry' would be more appropriate. Or perhaps he wouldn't go back at all. 

"Yeah," he said to himself, "I like the last option. That way I won't have to say anything at all."

Then he thought of Charcoal. He wouldn't have to apologise to anyone if she died. But she was the last Time Lord apart from him, he had searched for years for someone else who had survived, and now he had found her, he was trying to bump her off. He shook his head tiredly. It was their fault for walking off, not his, and this time he was leaving it up to them.


End file.
